Whiskey Lullaby
by ellen2321
Summary: When Ron and Hermione's marriage takes a turn for the worse what will happen to the couple? Can they survive without each other? RWHG PG13 for alcohol and violence. Songfic to Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss's Whiskey Lullaby.


A/N: This is my first songfic and first _completed_ fanfic. Please tell me what you think!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters. I also don't own the song/lyrics Whiskey Lullaby. This is just fanfiction!!!

* * *

**Whiskey Lullaby**

Ron trudged through the door, exhausted from his long day. Ron worked for the Ministry of Magic in the Department for the misuse of Muggle Artifacts, as did hid father. He sank into an easy chair. "Hermione," he called into the kitchen.

"What?" she returned with exasperation. Hermione had been busy all day catching up on cooking, cleaning and errands. Being a housewife was not Hermione's strength, nor desire. She had worked as a historian at a library, but recently the library had been having financial trouble and she was laid off. One less income meant Ron had to work overtime. Their tempers began running as short as their money.

"Where's my dinner? You know, work is hard and I'd really like to come home to some decent food before night shift!" Hermione stopped what she was doing. The pan she was cleaning clattered to the sink. Why did it have to be like this? Would it go one forever? But Hermione only knew that she couldn't take it anymore, she quit.

_She put him out like the burnin' end of a midnight cigarette  
She broke his heart he spent his whole life tryin' to forget  
We watched him drink his pain away a little at a time  
But he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind  
Until the night_

Ron put down his whiskey bottle. It had been three years since Hermione left him. But here he sat still, trying to get rid of the pain. He had been at this bar everyday since she left. Nevertheless, every time he lowered the alcohol from his lips the pain flooded back, memories of the wedding and honeymoon where he was floating on air. Finally married to his school sweetheart and surrounded by friends. Harry, Ginny, Neville, even Draco, all friends he hadn't seen in six years. Ron drained the bottle of the bitter drink and set it heavily on the counter. He staggered out of the bar and home with numbed senses and throbbing pain. Blindly he found his way through the grungy apartment. Ron pulled out a shiny, black muggle pistol. He felt the solid weight of it in his hands. Reaching for a familiar bottle, Ron scrawled a note. He sat on the bed for a long time, staring down the barrel, as he had many times before. Painful memories returned as Ron took drink after drink after drink. Finally when he drained it he hurled it against the opposite wall. For a long time Ron sat feeling the cold metal of the gun on his temple before he closed his eyes and took one last breath...

_He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger  
And finally drank away her memory  
Life is short but this time it was bigger  
Than the strength he had to get up off his knees  
We found him with his face down in the pillow  
With a note that said I'll love her till I die  
And when we buried him beneath the willow  
The angels sang a whiskey lullaby_

_La, la, la, la, la, la, la,_

_La, la, la, la, la, la, la._

Hermione raised her head from the bar counter, it had been three years since Ron's death. But the pain and regret of what she had done to him would not go away. She had heard what they said, she heard them talking, talking about her. They said it was the job, a bar fight, maybe even his friends, but Hermione knew. She knew what killed him, her. She managed to raise herself enough to wipe her tear stained cheeks and to ask for another drink. Beside her, Hermione recognized a voice. With all her strength, she sat up and turned. A man, an awfully handsome man, was asking her to dance. In a blur Hermione accepted and was being lead through the massive crowd. She could feel the music vibrating the floor. Hermione threw herself into the dancing. She forgot all about Ron for the time. Drink upon drink and dance after dance, the night blurred until Hermione woke finding herself along the street. Her purse and jewelry were gone. Hermione couldn't even remember what happened.

_The rumors flew but nobody knew how much she blamed herself  
For years and years she tried to hide the whiskey on her breath  
She finally drank her pain away a little at a time  
But she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind  
Until the night_

Tears streaming down her face she returned home. She couldn't help but the think of Ron. Hermione cried on the floor of the apartment for a long time, remembering their happy newlywed years, all the 'yes dear's and 'no dear's. She remembered their first anniversary and how Ron took her to a beautiful restaurant where the candles burned magical colors and the ceiling was full of stars. Tonight the pain was too heavy. Hermione couldn't bear it any longer. She swayed precariously on the chair she was using to retrieve Ron's photograph and a sleek, dark gun. Hermione clutched at the picture where she rocked back and forth on the bed. She sat like that for a long time before she reached for the gun, lying nearby. With shaky breath and trembling hands she brought the barrel to her forehead. Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath...

_She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger  
And finally drank away his memory  
Life is short but this time it was bigger  
Than the strength she had to get up off her knees  
We found her with her face down in the pillow  
Clinging to his picture for dear life  
We laid her next to him beneath the willow  
While the angels sang a whiskey lullaby_

_La, la, la, la, la, la, la,_

_La, la, la, la, la, la, la._

* * *

A/N: Thanks for actually finishing. Tell me what you think! I'm okay with constructive criticisim but hate reviews will be ignored! Thanks for reading! 


End file.
